Axiom...Fool's Gold..debut album from 1970..supergroup that combined folk, country and rock

Formed in Melbourne in 1969 by Brian Cadd and Don Mudie, both former members of leading Melbourne popsters The Groop, Axiom were arguably Australia's first true supergroup. Besides his success with The Groop, Brian Cadd wrote hits for other acts, including "Elevator Driver" for the Master's Apprentices and "When I Was Only Six Years Old" for Ronnie Burns and both he and Mudie worked as session players on a number of important recordings including the Russell Morris' classics "The Real Thing" and "Part III into Paper Walls".

After linking up in The Groop, Mudie and Cadd formed a successful songwriting partnership that carried on through Axiom and beyond. Glenn Shorrock was the former lead singer of The Twilights; Lavery was from Perth's (in)famous The Valentines; Stockley was from leading Melbourne group Cam-Pact.

Axiom signed to Ron Tudor's Fable Records. Their first single "Arkansas Grass" (co-written by Cadd and Mudie) was an immediate hit, reaching #7 in December 1969. Cadd, like many other Aussie musicians, had been deeply influenced by the trend towards a fusion of country and folk elements with rock. Songs like "Arkansas Grass" show how well and how quickly Axiom mastered the idiom.

Their second single "Little Ray of Sunshine" shot to #5 in April 1970 and has since become a standard. Their first two Axiom singles are rightly considered classics, and the latter, a perennial favourite, has become one of Glenn Shorrock's trademark songs. It was followed by Axiom's brilliant debut LP Fools Gold, which was both widely praised and a significant commercial success, reaching #18 on the album chart in June.

Fool's Gold unquestionably ranks as one of the best and most original Aussie albums of the period. It was also a significant step forward in creative control, being one of the very first Australian rock albums released on a major label that was produced by the artists themselves.

Axiom deserve to be recognised as an important musical bridge between Sixties pop and Seventies rock in Australia, as one of the first serious attempts to make Australian rock with international appeal, and as one of the finest bands of their time.

"Arkansas Grass" 
"Baby Bear" 
"Ford's Bridge" 
"Samantha" 
"Take It Or Leave It" 
"A Little Ray Of Sunshine" 
"Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow" 
"Mansfield Hotel" 
"Can't Let Go Of This Feeling" 
"Country Pickin' " 
"Once A Month Country Race Day" 
"Fool's Gold" 
"Who Am I Gonna See?" 
(All songs by Mudie-Cadd) 
Produced by Axiom 
Recorded at Armstrong's Studios, Melbourne

Brian Cadd (keyboards, vocals) 
Doug Lavery (drums) 1969 
Don Lebler (drums) 1969-71 
Don Mudie (bass) 
Glenn Shorrock (vocals) 
Chris Stockley (guitar)

click here for more information

Mighty Kong...successor to Daddy Cool...All I Wanna Do Is Rock..1973

Mighty Kong was the 'supergroup' successor to the legendary Daddy Cool, which broke up in August 1972. It was also the fifth (and technically the last) in the line of groups that featured Ross "The Boss" Wilson and Ross Hannaford, which began with Pink Finks in 1965. Despite its all-star lineup, culled from three of the top groups of the time, the band was short lived and never really achieved its considerable potential, effectively relegated to being a footnote in the larger story of Daddy Cool. The main relic of this period was their excellent (and greatly underrated) LP, All I Wanna Do Is Rock.

Personnel:
Ross Wilson - chief vocals, pignose guitar (09)
Ross Hannaford - guitar, deep throat
Russell Smith - guitar, lead vocals (03)
Tim Partridge - bass guitar
Ray Arnott – drums
+
John Fishbach - producer, engineer

Tracks:
01. All Through The Day (Into The Night We Play) – 6:02
02. Callin’ All Cats (The Cats Are Callin’) – 4:01
03. Some Other New Address – 4:05
04. Hard Drugs (Are Bad For You) – 2:57
05. All I Wanna Do Is Rock!! #1 – 4:15
06. Jungle In My Blood – 5:57
07. Got My Beliefs – 4:34
08. With A Smile Like That (How Could We Refuse) – 7:30
09. Homesick & Horny – 4:18
Bonuses:
10. Callin' All Cats (The Cats Are Callin') [Single Version] – 3:28
11. All I Wanna Do Is Rock [Unreleased Studio Jam] – 8:40

Mighty Kong

Healing Force...short lived but legendary Aussie progressive rock supergroup

The legendary Healing Force were something of a 'supergroup', and its history intersects with several other important bands of the period, notably King Harvest and Friends. They made only one single, but it is still widely regarded as one of the flagship Australian progressive rock releases of the early '70s. All the members had a wealth of experience -- Pryor had been the drummer in the The Twilights; Charlie was from Nova Express; Logan was from The Rebels and Wells had been a member of Perth's prog-rock pioneers Bakery.

Original line-up: 
Laurie Pryor (drums) 
Charlie Tumahai (vocals, bass) 
Mal Logan (organ) 
Lindsay Wells (guitar) 

Other members: 
Lindsay Wells (bass, guitar) 
Ray Findlay (bass) 
John Pugh (guitar) 
Joe Tattersal (drums) 
Mal Capewell (sax, flute) 
Gus Fenwick (bass)

In July 1971, they released their one brilliant single. The 'A' side, "Golden Miles", by Lindsay Wells, is one of the most admired Australian progressive rock recordings of the period and it rates as the best Australian progressive recording of the era. It was deservedly successful and spent nineteen weeks in the Melbourne charts, barely missing out on entering the Top 30. It features rippling Hammond organ by Logan with a beautiful melody line and a dramatic chorus, highlighted by the soaring vocals of the late, great Charlie Tumahai. The flip-side, "The Gully", another Lindsay Wells composition, was heavier but almost as good. Just before the single hit the charts, Charlie quit to join Chain and the group returned to a four piece. Pryor left soon after and was replaced by Joe Tattersall (ex-Barrelhouse), but then Lindsay also left and the band fizzled out.

In November 1972, Healing Force reformed with Logan, Pryor and Pugh, plus newcomers Gus Feniwck (bass) and Mal Capewell (ex-Company Caine) on reeds. This version performed at the Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1973, with Charlie rejoining especially for the show. One track from their set, "Erection", was included on the Mushroom Records Sunbury '73 album. They disbanded shortly afterwards, during preparations for a planned LP, leaving their considerable promise sadly unfulfilled.

This is a four track (unofficial) EP, compiled from their one single and 2 extra live tracks:

1. Golden Miles
2. The Gully
3. My Boogie
4. Poem of Joy (from the GTK tapes)

click here for more information

see also Golden Miles progressive rock compilation on this blog

Fanny Adams....first Aussie "supergroup"...rare, one-off album from 1971

On paper, Fanny Adams looked like a dream team, with four of Australasia's best musicians combining in a 'supergroup' and intent on conquering the world. Given the talent involved, this should have been a great group who did grand things, but, as so often happened in OzRock, the reality proved to be drastically different.

Vince Maloney, Johnny Dick, Teddy Toi and Doug Parkinson were veterans of some of Australia and New Zealand's top bands of the 1960s:

Vince Maloney had been in the original 1963-65 lineup of The Aztecs, but quit in '65 (along with the rest of the band) after a financial dispute. He and fellow Aztec Tony Barber then formed a shortlived duo, followed by a stint with Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays. Vince then formed his own band The Vince Maloney Sect, which became the house band on the mid-'60s pop show Kommotion. Moving to England, he spent several years as lead guitarist in the late-60s UK lineup of The Bee Gees with drummer Colin Petersen

Johnny Dick had joined Max Merritt & The Meteors in 1963 in New Zealand and came to Australia with them in '65, alongside Teddy Toi. After the original Aztecs split from Thorpe, he and Teddy jumped ship and joined the "new" Aztecs, which lasted until 1966. He later teamed up with 'Parko' in the highly-regarded Doug Parkinson In Focus

Teddy Toi was a highly respected bassist, already a rock'n'roll veteran whose CV went back to New Zealand in the late '50s with Sonny Day & the Sundowners and included a stint in the second lineup of The Aztecs in 1965-66.

Doug Parkinson was (and still is) one of Australia's finest male singers. He started his career in a high-school band The A Sound, followed Newcastle pop outfit The Questions, which evolved into Doug Parkinson In Focus with Johnny, Duncan McGuire and Billy Green, scoring a Top 20 hit in '68 with their superb rendition of The Beatles' "Dear Prudence" and winning the Hoadley's Battle Of The Sounds in '69.

Fanny Adams were, unfortunately, short lived. Due to various issues within the band and resistance from a sceptical public, they went their separate ways, but left us with this, now rare, album which showed the enormous talent that was within.

text courtesy of Milesago

click here for more information